Album Notes

The Characteristic Pitches are Daniel Rosenthal (trumpet), Rick Stone (alto sax), Robin Eubanks (trombone), Lefteris Kordis (piano), Greg Loughman (double bass) and Paolo Lattanzi (drums).

The Boston based quintet is joined by acclaimed trombonist Robin Eubanks in a recording that unfolds like a story line and takes the listener through ever changing scenarios: high energy excursions dissolve into moments of pure lyrism, spontaneity opposes thoroughly arranged sections.

An album that will engage you from the first note and will keep revealing new nuances time after time.

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For his second recording as a leader and his first with his Boston-based Characteristic Pitches quintet drummer Paolo Lattanzi penned an album full of forward-leaning compositions that are uniformly appealing and often exhilarating. Multitude's 11 tunes seven of which feature guest trombonist Robin Eubanks are frequently surprising, too, in terms of how Lattanzi uses tonal colors and inventively manipulates chordal and rhythmic patterns. The group's sound and modus operandi are tough to nail down and that's a good thing.
Eubanks, best-known recently for his work in Dave Holland's bands, is the ringer. And he lives up to his star billing, starting with his ebullient solo on the opening Illusions, a mid-tempo piece that's mostly in seven. Nearly 10 minutes long, it swoops from cellar-dwelling to roof-raising. Eubanks also contributes some great licks to Out There (On the Streets). The tune starts with a cascading, choir-like passage; progresses to a stair-stepping groove anchored by Lattanzi and bassist Greg Loughman; and then makes room for an angular, darting solo by trumpeter Daniel Rosenthal. The trombonist also shines on the quick-shifting Neglected Potential and on the stately-to-fiery closer Common Nonsense .
As both a five- and six-piece, the band boasts a big, sonorous sound. But Multitude is also marked by moments of delicate beauty, including Loughman's probing solo on Action and Reaction. Equally sensitive is alto saxophonist Rick Stone's solo midway through the ballad The Need for Essence. Initially, this intimate passage is backed only by bass, mallet-driven drum tumbles and piano sound effects. Stone's mellow tone also contributes to the trumpet-sax unison lines in the laid-back melody of Gliding Away.
Born in Italy and trained at the Berklee College of Music, Lattanzi should expect his profile to rise considerably from Multitude, which was recorded at the studio of Boston's WGBH-FM
- Philip Booth, Jazziz (summer 2010)